Clayton Nicolai May 16th 2042

By the time I arrived at the new town, it was around 5 in the morning the next day and the sun was peeking up over the horizon. The rest of the trip went surprisingly well, I only saw two mutants, and I was able to avoid them. I decided it was time to make camp, or rather, find camp.

As I darted through the shadows looking for an empty building to “borrow”, I realized this abandoned town was jarringly silent. I mean, I know it didn’t have any humans, but usually there are at least some bugs tiptoeing about, and small animals like mice and birds skittering around, looking for any unpackaged food. But there was nothing here, no roaches in the corners, no crows circling overhead, looking for carcasses to eat.

It was the loudest silence I’ve ever heard. The deathly quiet put me on edge. A grocery store caught my eye while I was sneaking about, it seemed like most of the food was still there. That was odd, most of the stores were emptied of edible food years ago, when the virus first started.

Leaving Morgan, I crept in to see what was salvageable. I cringed as the weathered linoleum tiles cracked under my feet. I stepped into the canned food aisle, but just as I walked up to the shelves, I heard a loud crunch and a person talking coming from the next aisle over. I jumped behind a display of instant ramen, flipping my knife out just in time to see two silhouettes walking around the corner.